Space, Government or Private Frontier? [POLL]

With all the renewed interest in space exploration due to the success of the latest Mars probe, where do you think the finances should come from?

There's no doubt that as a nation we're flat broke. The feds are spending $10 billion per day and $4 billion of that is either borrowed or printed out of thin air. So how do we  justify spending any monies on space exploration?

In my humble opinion we justify it by pointing to all the technology that has been gained from the space program already. We can also justify it by pointing out what a small part of the budget NASA really is. The Curiosity Rover that's on Mars now has only cost $2.5 billion over the last 10 years to get it there. A literal drop in the bucket when it comes to federal spending.

Besides, 'seeking out new worlds, new life...' that is the governments job, I think.

How do you feel?